1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an alignment guide for hypodermic syringes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Injectible medications, pharmaceuticals and other suspensions are typically stored in fluid-containing serum bottles that have an elastomeric seal or septum through which a hypodermic syringe needle is introduced.
Conventional methods for withdrawing a measured volume of liquid from a serum bottle involve holding the bottle with the fingers of one hand and inserting the needle attached to a hypodermic syringe through the septum by holding the syringe with the other hand. In the case of self-administered medicaments, such as insulin, where the patient may have a limited supply of extra needles, the needle should penetrate the septum at a right angle in order to avoid possibly bending the needle against an inside wall of the serum bottle. For patients who are aged or infirm, the entire manipulative procedure may be difficult. Moreover, certain medical procedures require the injection of a plurality of liquid medicaments from several bottles. Rather than requiring a patient to self-administer a plurality of injections which can be a painful and difficult process, it would be useful to provide a means for easily introducing more than one type of liquid into a single syringe.
While various syringe guides have been available in the prior art, these guides have lacked positive positioning of the serum bottle to assure right angle puncturing of the septum, whether the syringe is inserted into the guide holding the bottle or a new bottle is inserted into the guide holding the syringe. Such guides have also lacked easy locking of the syringe in the guide and easy disassembly of the syringe for cleaning, as required by government (Food and Drug Administration) regulations.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved syringe guide. Other objects of the invention are to provide a syringe guide with positive positioning for the serum bottle, which can be easily assembled and disassembled.